Replacement gripping member

ABSTRACT

An improved gripping member for a weight bearing container. The gripping member is specifically designed to either replace an existing gripping member, or improve a two part handle for a weight bearing container by providing a larger diameter gripping surface. The improved gripping member is formed of two mating halves that can be releasably attached to form a cylindrical gripping surface with a relatively large diameter. When attached about an existing gripping member or wire handle portion of a two part handle the inventive gripping member provides a large diameter gripping surface to distribute the weight of the container about a larger portion of the user&#39;s palm.

1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to handles. More specifically,the invention relates to a replacement gripping member or handle whichcan be placed over an existing handle.

STATEMENT OF THE PRIOR ART

Replacement handles for various items are well known in the art. Thereplacement handles are generally made of a molded plastic and serve toprovide a larger or “grippier” surface area as compared to the original.The handles of the prior art typically replace, as opposed to cover, theoriginal handles.

Replacement handles and/or gripping members for buckets or other largecontainers which can hold relatively heavy contents are of particularconcern. The existing bucket or “heavy container” handles typically comein two parts. The first part comprises an elongate metal wire or arm.The metal arm is bent into a generally semi-circular shape. The ends ofthe arm are bent to engage portions of the top of the cylindricalcontainer. The arm also includes a central section intermediate the endsof the arm. The second part of the handle is a cylindrical grippingmember which rotatably fits on the central section of the arm and whichis shaped to comfortably contour to the hand of a user. The cylindricalgripping member is typically made from plastic, and is sized to preventthe wire from “digging” into the user's hand when the container isheavily laden. The plastic comprising the gripping member degrades andbreaks, especially when subjected to sunlight. After the gripping memberbreaks, the bucket is often discarded because a new gripping member isnot readily available.

Typical of these devices is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,980,415issued to one Crawley for a replacement gripping member for a bucket.The device consists of a single molded plastic piece formed of twonearly identical halves which interlock over a central portion of thewire handle of the bucket. While Crawley is effective, it can only beemployed by either removing the existing gripping member or waiting forthe gripping member to fail and then replacing it. The present inventioncan be used either as a replacement handle or to increase the diameterof the existing gripping member.

2. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art byproviding an improved gripping member for a weight bearing container.The gripping member is specifically designed to either replace anexisting gripping member, or improve a two part handle for a weightbearing container by providing a larger diameter gripping surface. Theimproved gripping member is formed of two mating halves that can bereleasably attached to form a cylindrical gripping surface with arelatively large diameter. When attached about an existing grippingmember or wire handle portion of a two part handle the inventivegripping member provides a large diameter gripping surface to distributethe weight of the container about a larger portion of the user's palm.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improvedgripping member for a weight bearing container which has a largerdiameter gripping surface than a conventional gripping member or wirehandle.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved grippingmember which can replace or improve an existing gripping member.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved grippingmember which can be positioned about an existing gripping member or awire handle.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved grippingmember which has opposing abutment surfaces to limit horizontaldisplacement of a user's hand.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved grippingmember having a male and a female half adapted for locking engagement.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved grippingmember having a male and a female half with locking tabs andcorresponding recesses configured to reduce accidental lateraldisplacement.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved grippingmember having reinforced locking tabs to increase the load bearingcapacity of the member.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved grippingmember having a cylindrical channel or bore of sufficient diameter toenclose an existing gripping member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the gripping member of theinvention applied to a wire handle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a male half of the inventive grippingmember.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a female half of the gripping member.

FIG. 4 is close up of a locking tab of the male half of the grippingmember.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the female half of the gripping memberwith a standard wire handle and grip inserted therethrough.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the gripping members illustrating theinteraction of the male half locking tabs with the recesses of thefemale half while engaged.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the gripping members illustrating theinteraction of the male half locking tabs with the recesses of thefemale half when disengaged.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1-7 the inventive device, generally indicated bythe numeral 10 is shown. The invention, which is essentially an enhancedgripping member 10, is designed as an “oversized” grip to spread theweight of an attached container, vessel, etc. more broadly and evenlywithin a user's hand. The gripping member 10 of the invention isdesigned primarily for use with buckets or other containers whererelatively heavy loads may be placed. Buckets are of particular concernbecause they tend to carry liquids, and liquids are dense and thereforevery heavy per volume. The prior art addresses this weight issue byproviding a two part handle.

The first part of a typical prior art handle comprises an elongate metalwire or arm having a diameter of about one-eighth of an inch. The metalarm is bent into a generally semi-circular shape. The ends of the armare bent to engage portions of the top of the cylindrical container. Thearm also include a central section intermediate the ends of the arm. Thesecond part of the handle is a cylindrical gripping member whichrotatably fits on the central section of the arm and which is shaped tocomfortably contour to the hand of a user. The cylindrical grippingmember is typically made from plastic and includes a honeycomb interior.The gripping members of prior art handles are typically about ¾ inchesin diameter, this being a standard size which is used with the vastmajority of prior art 1-5 gallon buckets. The problem with thisarrangement is that the plastic comprising the gripping member,typically some type of polymer, degrades and breaks, especially whensubjected to sunlight or repeated stress. After the gripping memberbreaks, the bucket is often discarded because a new gripping member isnot readily available and the bare metal arm will tend to “dig” into thehand of the user, an effect greatly exacerbated when the container isheavily laden. The prior art addresses the problem by providingreplacement handles or replacements for the gripping member. Thegripping member replacements can only be employed by removing theexisting handle which, given the thickness and hardness of the plastictypically used in these applications, can be quite difficult. Also, thereplacements are invariably roughly the same diameter as the originaland as such, are inadequate to provide sufficient weight distributionwhen held in the hand of an average adult.

The present invention 10 can be used as either a replacement grippingmember or an enhanced (essentially a larger diameter) gripping member.To that end, the device 10 is formed of two halves 20, 22 which, whenmated, form a relatively large gripping member having an “oversized”cylindrical opening or channel 24. Channel 24 has a sufficient interiordiameter to allow a “standard” wire arm 26 or a typical grip 28 to passtherethrough. Thus, the channel 24 is preferably at least about ¾ inchesin diameter. The relatively large inner diameter of channel 24 does notadversely affect performance of the device 10 when either the wire arm26 or grip 28 is positioned therein and it should be noted that thestandard arrangement does include some “play” or extra space between theinner diameter of the grip 28 and the arm 26. The channel 24 canaccommodate a wire arm 26 or grip 28 of about ¾ inches in diameter sothat the device 10 can be used with virtually any container handle asalmost none have a diameter (either wire arm 26 or grip 28) greater than¾ inches. Also, the device 10 can be used to “enhance” an existing grip28 even if that grip 26 is cracked or otherwise damaged. This is becausewhen the device 10 is enclosed about an existing grip 28, any damagedportion of the grip 28 which cannot be easily removed will be containedwithin channel 24. Finally, when the device is positioned about anexisting grip 28, channel 24 is sized to receive the grip 28 in snugfrictional engagement so that relative lateral displacement is notpossible.

A key aspect of the invention 10 is that it is removable i.e.,detachable, so that it can be used on more than one container, either asa replacement grip or to enhance an existing grip. Accordingly, male andfemale halves 20, 22 are designed to be releasably attached. Thisarrangement therefore creates a possibility of unintended separationwhich, in the event a heavy load is being carried, could be dangerous tothe user. Accordingly, the device 10 must be designed to minimizeunintended lateral or vertical displacement of the two halves. To thatend, a series of locking tabs and corresponding recesses are provided onthe male and female halves 20, 22, respectively. The tabs and recessesare configured to perform three functions, namely, the joining of maleand female halves 20, 22, the prevention of relative lateral movementbetween the halves 20, 22, and the prevention of vertical separationbetween the halves 20, 22.

Male 20 and female 22 halves are joined by way of a series of linearlyspaced male tabs 30 and corresponding recesses 32. Male half 20, likefemale half 22 is substantially semi-cylindrical though it could berectangular or any other elongated shape. The semi-circular end portions34, 35 of male 20 and female 22 halves expand diametrically outwardly sothat the exterior surface of end portions 34, 35 form arcuate abutmentsurfaces 36 to restrict lateral movement of the user's hand when thehalves 20, 22 are joined. Flat co-planar attachment surfaces 40, 42extend between end portions 34, 35.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4, the male half 20 is shown.It can be seen that the locking tabs 30 extend from surfaces 40. Asshown, there are six locking tabs 30 but there may be more or fewerprovided that they are reinforced to prevent unintended separation ofthe male 20 half from the female half as will be explained in moredetail later. Each tab 30 includes an upstanding wall 44 with aco-extensive flange 46 which extends perpendicular to the wall 44. Theflange 46 is positioned along the top of the wall 44 with a rearmostportion 48 of the flange 46 extending from the top to the bottom of thewall and serving as both a stop and a reinforcement to preventunintended disengagement of the device 10 as will be explained in moredetail later. A semicircular protrusion 50 positioned approximatelycentrally lengthwise on said wall 44 is sized and positioned to engagean indentation 52 formed in tab receiving recess 32 formed in the femalehalf 22 of the device 10.

Female half 22 is substantially identical to male half 20 with theexception of recesses 32 as previously discussed. The recesses 32 areessentially elongated slots formed in attachment wall 60, which wallterminates at attachment surface 42. Each recess 32 has a flangeengaging lip 58 adjacent a tab 30 receiving opening 59. The lip 58includes arcuate indentation 52 sized to receive protrusion 50 by“snap-fit”.

Unintended separation of the male 20 half from the female 22 half can bea concern when carrying heavy loads. Accordingly, the device 10 isreinforced to greatly reduce that possibility. To that end protrusion 50is made robust, that is, relatively large. While this oversizedarrangement makes even intended separation somewhat difficult, thedevice 10 can still be used (i.e., intentionally separated) by an adultof average strength. While protrusion 50 and indentation 52 serve tolock halves together while limiting unintended disengagement fromtranslational displacement, the rearmost portion 48 of the flange 46serves to limit vertical displacement of the male member 20 relative tothe female 22. Since protrusion 50 and indentation 52 serve to limitrelative horizontal movement of male 20 and female 22 halves of thedevice 10, rearmost portion 48 of the flange 46 provides additional massto the tab 30 thereby providing greater resistance to vertical shear.

In operation, the user can remove any damaged original grip or portionthereof from an existing wire (or plastic or other material) handle, ifnecessary. The gripping member 10 of the invention is positionedapproximately centrally along the wire handle of the container with thehalves 20, 22 separated. If the original grip is still in place, thegripping member 10 is positioned to cover or overlap the original grip,effectively increasing the diameter of the original grip as statedabove. The halves are then aligned so that attachment surfaces areapproximately parallel, so that tabs 30 may be slid into snap engagementwithin recesses 32. The device 10 may be removed by sliding the male andfemale halves in opposite directions and used with another container ifdesired.

From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easilyascertain the essential characteristics of this invention and, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changesand modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages andconditions.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to thesole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims:

1. A gripping member for a weight bearing container having a wire handlecomprising: a male and female half, the male half having tabs and thefemale member having tab receiving recesses, said tabs and recessesallowing for selectively joining said male and female half; each tabhaving a semi-cylindrical protrusion and a co-extensive flange with arear wall, each recess having a flange engaging lip with an arcuateindentation; whereby both unintended lateral and vertical separation ofsaid male and female half is limited by interaction of said tabs withinsaid recesses.
 2. The gripping member of claim 1 having an internalchannel when said male and female halves are joined.
 3. The grippingmember of claim 2 wherein said internal channel has at least a ¾ inchdiameter.
 4. A gripping member for a weight bearing container having astandard sized wire handle with a centrally positioned grip comprising:a male and female half, the male half having tabs and the female memberhaving tab receiving recesses, said tabs and recesses allowing forselectively joining said male and female half about said centrallypositioned grip; each tab having a semi-cylindrical protrusion and aco-extensive flange with a rear wall, each recess having a flangeengaging lip with an arcuate indentation; whereby both unintendedlateral and vertical separation of said male and female half is limitedby interaction of said tabs within said recesses.
 5. The gripping memberof claim 4 having an internal channel sized to receive said centrallypositioned grip in snug, non-sliding relation when said male and femalehalves are joined.
 6. A method of improving a handle for a weightbearing container, said handle having a gripping area and an originalgrip, the method comprising the steps of: providing an enhanced grip,said enhanced grip initially formed of a male and female half and sizedto surround said original grip when said male and female half arejoined; positioning said male and female halves about said originalgrip; and, interlocking said male and female halves of said enhancedgrip about said original grip.
 7. The method of claim 6 including thestep of removing said original grip and positioning said enhanced gripabout a central portion of said handle.